There is a process occurring across states in the European Union which can best be described and explained through a conceptualization of "redistribution of authority," which takes into account decision-making authority shifting among three levels of governance: supranational, national (central state) and subnational. Authority has been redistributed to governmental and non-governmental actors at levels below the central state and above it, due to a variety of political, economic and social factors that both converge and work at cross purposes to drive the process. The result of this process of redistribution is a complex, dynamic system of governance in which networks of interdependent, autonomous actors at all levels interact with one another through a variety of channels to make and implement decisions. Current theories used to study the European Union and integration are incapable of explaining the process of redistribution, its dynamics, or its causes and consequences.This study answers four broad questions: (1) Is decision-making authority being diffused or "redistributed" both above and below the central state government, and are there any discernible trends in this process over time? (2) If there have been changes in the locus of authority, what have been the causes of these changes? (3) What are the effects of this process on actual decision-making and governance? (4) What implications do this process, its causes and effects have on current conceptualizations and theories of the state and decision-making processes?The empirical research in this thesis focuses on answering these questions in the context of the European arena, but also keeps in mind their implications more generally.